Caravan touts hope for 'fresh ideas' from Price

The Cincinnati Reds Caravan made its annual visit to Louisville Slugger Field on Thursday night. With a new year comes new hopes with a new skipper.

Bryan Price was promoted from pitching coach to manager after Cincinnati fired Dusty Baker. Price wasn't among the group that made the trip to Louisville, but general manager Walt Jocketty expects him will bring "some fresh ideas." The 51-year-old rookie manager will be a stark contrast from the veteran 64-year-old Baker.

"The big thing is that he has great communication with the players," Jocketty said of Price. "The players like him and respond to him. Sometimes you need a different voice, and I think that's what Bryan brings."

Most major league managers are former position players (Baker was an outfielder) and the vast majority are former catchers. Former pitchers and/or pitching coaches rarely become skippers.

But with the success of Boston's John Farrell, who guided the Red Sox to the World Series title, that trend might be changing. Farrell, San Diego's Bud Black and Price are the only current managers that were pitching coaches.

"He's real intelligent," Latos said. "He knows the game inside and out. He knows the pitching aspect of it. In the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth inning, it becomes a chess match when it's a close ballgame. I think it's going to be interesting. It'll help us win ballgames. ... I'm excited."

Jocketty said Price will have plenty of help.

"He understands that the offensive side of the game is a little different," he said. "But he has a great staff. Jay Bell is his bench coach. (Bell) is a very impressive baseball man, and I think one day soon he'll probably be a manager himself."

The Louisville Bats, the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, will bring back manager Jim Riggleman. Jocketty said Tucker Barnhart will be the Bats' regular catcher. The 23-year-old Indianapolis native was a 10th-round draft choice of the Reds in 2009 and spent last year in Double-A Pensacola.

Louisville will also likely have left-hander David Holmberg, whom the Reds acquired last month from Arizona in a three-way deal that sent catcher Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay.

Cincinnati's top pitching prospect, Robert Stephenson, will start at Double-A but could join the Bats midseason.